Guidelines Dietary - Eat For Health

The Guidelines are based on whole foodsFoods exert certain health effects because of the nutrients they contain. As such, dietary recommendations areoften couched in terms of individual nutrients (such as requirements of vitamins and minerals). However, peopleeat whole foods rather than single nutrients, so such advice can be difficult to put into practice. For this reason,these Guidelines make recommendations based only on whole foods, such as vegetables and meats, ratherthan recommendations related to specific food components and individual nutrients.This practical approach makes the recommendations easier to apply. Dietary patterns consistent with theGuidelines will allow the general population to meet nutrient requirements, although some subpopulationsmay have some increased nutrient requirements that are more difficult to meet through diet alone andsupplementation may be required. This is noted in the ‘Practical considerations’ sections.Regulation of the food supply, such as fortification, use of food additives or special dietary products, is dealtwith by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (see www.foodstandards.gov.au).Target audience for the GuidelinesThe target audience for the Guidelines comprises health professionals (including dietitians, nutritionists, generalpractitioners (GPs), nurses and lactation consultants), educators, government policy makers, the food industryand other interested parties.Companion documentsThe Guidelines form part of a suite of resources on nutrition and dietary guidance. Other documents in thesuite include the following:• Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand (NRV Document) – This details quantitative nutrientreference values (NRVs) for different ages and genders. The NRVs detail the recommended amounts ofmacronutrients and micronutrients required to avoid deficiency, toxicity and chronic disease. As anexample, the NRV Document would be the reference for finding out how much iron is needed by womenaged between 19 and 30 years.• A modelling system to inform the revision of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (Food ModellingSystem) – This describes a range of computer-generated diets that translate the NRVs into dietary patternsto describe some types, combinations and amounts of foods that can deliver nutrient requirements foreach age and gender group of different height and activity levels in the Australian population. A range ofmodels including omnivore, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pasta and rice-based dietary patterns were developed,and primarily omnivorous dietary patterns were used to inform the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating andcompanion resources.• A review of the evidence to address targeted questions to inform the revision of the Australian DietaryGuidelines (Evidence Report) – This is a systematic approach to literature review relevant to targetedquestions published in the peer-reviewed nutrition literature from 2002–2009. As an example, the EvidenceReport would be the reference for looking at the evidence for a particular evidence statement included inthese Guidelines.• Infant Feeding Guidelines – This document aims to support optimum infant nutrition by providing health workerswith a review of the evidence, and clear evidence-based recommendations on infant feeding.It is relevant to healthy, term infants of normal birth weight (>2,500g).• Australian Guide to Healthy Eating – This is the food selection tool (see page 10) which reflects dietarypatterns divided into portions from the five food groups – fruit, vegetables, grains, milk, yoghurt andcheese products and lean meats (or alternatives), representing the proportion of these food groupsrequired each day.• Companion resources – These include an interactive website, summary booklets, brochures and postersfor health professionals and consumers.All of these documents are available on the internet at www.eatforhealth.gov.au.IntroductionNational Health and Medical Research Council3